I love hearing about good breeding practices!
When I was heavily involved w/ a kennel that specialized in German and Chek bred German Shepherds, we often had to make tough decisions regarding culling for work ability. Although it was rare that a pup had to be put down, if we had a pup born w/ tons of drive and zero nerve it was placed with the utmost of care because misshandled it would beyond a shadow of a doubt become a dangerous fear biter... ya'all think killing sick chicks is hard, try putting down a puppy that you raised from birth. I had a litter born premie- so young they could not stay w/ mom because she inadvertantly tore them while trying to clean them because their skin was too thin. Of all of the pups I tube fed (and the person in charge of the breeding program advised me to have them put down), only one survived... His skull was slightly misshaped- did not get realized until he was 3 months of age and went to the vet for the 10 or 11 time, who had missed it until then. Since he seemed OK we just kept an eye on it. But he was euthanized at 8 months when he developed obvious birth defect related convulsions at 8 months of age. Had I just listened to the knowlegable person who advised me to have the pups put down. I could have saved that pup and myself a lot of stress... but not before I had put in over 700+ hours of training with "Napoleon" , and watched his littermates die one by one. He was the most promising pup the breeding program had ever produced, and even the Secret Service had expressed an interest in him.
...As for my poultry, I do wish to show and improve my breeds of choice. That being said, I will have my show birds permanently quarantined until they are retired, and cull vigorously. My Family will be eating both eggs and meat from my birds... I will do my best to have what my flock produces, be it live birds/eggs/manure/meat, be safe and healthy for their sake first and foremost. If my flock benefits from my keeping my family safe, great.
When I was heavily involved w/ a kennel that specialized in German and Chek bred German Shepherds, we often had to make tough decisions regarding culling for work ability. Although it was rare that a pup had to be put down, if we had a pup born w/ tons of drive and zero nerve it was placed with the utmost of care because misshandled it would beyond a shadow of a doubt become a dangerous fear biter... ya'all think killing sick chicks is hard, try putting down a puppy that you raised from birth. I had a litter born premie- so young they could not stay w/ mom because she inadvertantly tore them while trying to clean them because their skin was too thin. Of all of the pups I tube fed (and the person in charge of the breeding program advised me to have them put down), only one survived... His skull was slightly misshaped- did not get realized until he was 3 months of age and went to the vet for the 10 or 11 time, who had missed it until then. Since he seemed OK we just kept an eye on it. But he was euthanized at 8 months when he developed obvious birth defect related convulsions at 8 months of age. Had I just listened to the knowlegable person who advised me to have the pups put down. I could have saved that pup and myself a lot of stress... but not before I had put in over 700+ hours of training with "Napoleon" , and watched his littermates die one by one. He was the most promising pup the breeding program had ever produced, and even the Secret Service had expressed an interest in him.
...As for my poultry, I do wish to show and improve my breeds of choice. That being said, I will have my show birds permanently quarantined until they are retired, and cull vigorously. My Family will be eating both eggs and meat from my birds... I will do my best to have what my flock produces, be it live birds/eggs/manure/meat, be safe and healthy for their sake first and foremost. If my flock benefits from my keeping my family safe, great.
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